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That may depend on how you type. I type one-handedly so an ergonomic keyboard isn't for me.
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http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Natural-Ergo-Keyboard-4000/dp/B000A6PPOK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1213630169&sr=8-1[^]
Works so nice, I bought another for home. I used to have wrist problems from typing all day and now I haven't had them in the last year since I started using an ergonomic keyboard.
Plus the cool thing about this one is it has an attachment that creates an "inverted" slope for the keyboard so it slopes away from you. This doesn't work if your keyboard is directly on your desk, but if you have some sort of "drawer" or below-desk attachment for the keyboard then it is really comfortable.
Using an ergonomic keyboard does take a little getting used to, but it is so worth it.
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I'm using a trackball at work and saves my arm greatly. However I do take a lot of micro-breaks, so that helps a lot too. I even doubt if the trackball is really helping that much, however it does work better for me than a regular mouse.
I also have an ergonomic desk, but I think that is overrated, as the desk can't be changed in height without the help of the congierge.
WM.
What about weapons of mass-construction?
"What? Its an Apple MacBook Pro. They are sexy!" - Paul Watson
My blog
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WillemM wrote: I also have an ergonomic desk, but I think that is overrated, as the desk can't be changed in height without the help of the congierge.
We have desks that can be adjusted in height with motors. They were (hearsay!) as expensive as desks without that feature.
These desks led to a whole culture of stand-up-meetings in our company. Great!
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.
Douglas Adams, "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
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I don't get it... sitting is not ergonomic??
“Time and space can be a bitch.”
–Gushie, Quantum Leap
{o,o}.oO( Looking for a great RSS reader? Try FeedBeast! )
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logan1337 wrote: I don't get it... sitting is not ergonomic??
That would be too strict. But moving is much more ergonomic.
"dynamic sitting" is in!  Stand a little, walk a little, sit in different ways putting load on different part of your spine.
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.
Douglas Adams, "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
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Ah that makes sense.
“Time and space can be a bitch.”
–Gushie, Quantum Leap
{o,o}.oO( Looking for a great RSS reader? Try FeedBeast! )
|)””’) Built with home-grown CodeProject components!
-”-”-
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inline wrote: hought about buying one of Microsofts ergonomic keyboards.
That is crap. Buy a better conventional keyboard plus an arm rest.
Also, a footrest makes prolonged sitting much more bearable.
If you have acute problems with arm/shoulder, try to get a more better (that is: less ergonomic, less palm-formed) mouse.
And change your way of using your mouse:
You never ever move your wrist or arm when moving the mouse. You hold it with thumb and smallest finger and move it only with those two. The other fingers are just for clicking the buttons.
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.
Douglas Adams, "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
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The best ergonomic keyboard is called the Bench Press, the Preacher Curl bench or the good old Jogging Exerciser.
Also helps with food digestion, reaching your toes and running prolonged periods of time ( >= 5mins)
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using an ergonomic keyboard ever since i remember, got one at home and at work...i even have a spare ergo keyboard in my car! 
"for true knowledge only comes thru understanding ones own questions ... if you dont do that then all you want is someone to do your homework for you and you will learn nothing (and go on to become a vb programmer and suffer the scorn and ridicule of us for all eternity etc etc)" - l a u r e n
"You can't have great software without a great team, and most software teams behave like dysfunctional families." - Jim McCarthy
TheCardinal
CTC-RDG
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I buy them non stop. I can't use a normal one for long now.
Christian Graus
Please read this if you don't understand the answer I've given you
"also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )
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I've used ergonomic keyboards for a long time. I agree that for single-hand typers there'd be no difference, but if you're a regular typist then I'd recommend them, especially if you have big hands. The ergo structure causes the keys to be a bit further apart than normal, so smaller-handed people don't seem to like them as much.
I found that the Microsoft keyboard isn't as nice as the Cirque (which I'm not sure is in production anymore), for the simple reason that the '6' key is on the wrong side of the keyboard! MS clumped the '6' next to the '5', across the divide from the right hand, so you have to retrain your left hand to reach for the '6'. If you're not a touch-typist for numbers, that may not be an issue for you.
Regards,
Bob
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Retrain your left hand? I touch type, and I've always hit the 6 with my left hand as it's closer on a standard keyboard.
Which is why on an ergo keyboard the 6 is on the left side, not the right...despite that "touch typing colour chart" they teach.
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What about the 'b' key? It's pretty much in the center but I've always used my right hand. On the natural I recently started using it's on the left  . So bit of retraining there - after a decade or so of using standard keyboards.
"For fifty bucks I'd put my face in their soup and blow." - George Costanza
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Takes some getting used to - the slight extra distance between keys (even if you have long fingers - esp. after a decade of std k/boards), the 'b' on the left (if you're used to typing with right hand), and quite a bit harder to type with one hand (e.g. if you're on the phone).
Of course the hand position is much more natural, and it's easier to touch type the numbers since they're divided now so you don't have to guess when it comes to 5,6,7 (well I would sometimes have to).
"For fifty bucks I'd put my face in their soup and blow." - George Costanza
CP article: SmartPager - a Flickr-style pager control with go-to-page popup layer.
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Definitely get one! I received my first from a friend some years back and have insisted on using one ever since; currently MS Natural Keyboard 4000. If you want to have problems with your hands, which does happen (personal experience), then just stick with the standard style keyboard.
The mouse is not that big a deal, unless you are doing a lot of drawing or something.
INTP
"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence."Edsger Dijkstra
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